Irrational use of antibiotics: Prevalence and factors in the general population of Pakistan
Antibiotic Misuse in Pakistan: Patterns and Predisposing Factors
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69750/dmls.01.08.065Keywords:
Antibiotic Resistance, Self-Medication, Health Knowledge, Health Behavior, Socioeconomic Factors, Health Education, Healthcare DisparitiesAbstract
Background: Antibiotic resistance is a critical global health threat, primarily driven by the misuse and overuse of antibiotics. Comparing awareness and practices related to antibiotic use across demographic groups can inform strategies to combat this issue, particularly in regions like Pakistan where resistance is escalating.
Objectives: This study compares knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding antibiotic use between the general population and medical students in Pakistan and identifies key socio-demographic predictors of misuse.
Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted with 220 participants (110 general population, 110 medical students). Data were collected via structured surveys capturing demographics, awareness, attitudes, and practices concerning antibiotics. Statistical analyses included chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression to identify significant predictors, with p<0.05 considered statistically significant.
Results: Medical students demonstrated greater awareness of antibiotic resistance (71.8% recognizing decreased efficiency) compared to the general population (58.2%, p=0.049). Self-medication was significantly higher in the general population (51.8%) than among medical students (26.4%, p=0.038). Regression analysis revealed that education level (OR=3.09, p<0.001), previous antibiotic use (p<0.001), and income (OR=-0.01, p=0.022) were significant predictors of misuse.
Conclusion: Targeted public health interventions are urgently needed to enhance awareness of antibiotic resistance, particularly among the general population. Educational campaigns, stricter over-the-counter sales regulations, and improved access to healthcare are essential to reduce misuse and curb resistance development.
Downloads
References
Aslam A, Zin CS, Jamshed S, Rahman NS, Ahmed SI, Pallós P, et al. Self-medication with antibiotics: prevalence, practices and related factors among the Pakistani public. Antibiotics. 2022;11(6):795. doi:10.3390/antibiotics11060795
Khadka S, Hashmi FK, Yadav GK, Lamichhane S, Giri S, Tariq F, et al. Rational use of antimicrobials: a nationwide cross-sectional survey among people of Pakistan. IJS Glob Health. 2023;6(1):e0103. doi:10.1097/GH9.0000000000000103
Akhund R, Jamshed F, Jaffry HA, Hanif H, Fareed S. Knowledge and attitude of general Pakistani population towards antibiotic resistance. Cureus. 2019;11(3):e4266. doi:10.7759/cureus.4266
Gillani AH, Chang J, Aslam F, Saeed A, Shukar S, Khanum F, et al. Public knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding antibiotic use in Punjab, Pakistan: a cross-sectional study. Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther. 2021;19(3):399-411. doi:10.1080/14787210.2021.1823216
Atif M, Asghar S, Mushtaq I, Malik I, Amin A, Babar ZUD, et al. What drives the inappropriate use of antibiotics? A mixed-methods study from Bahawalpur, Pakistan. Infect Drug Resist. 2019;12:687-99. doi:10.2147/IDR.S189114
Momina I, Muhammad AK, Haris J, Muhammad AS, Iqra M, Muhammad AC. Knowledge, attitude, and perception regarding antibiotic use and associated resistance among the general public in Lahore, Pakistan. J Univ Med Dent Coll. 2024;15(2). doi:10.37723/jumdc.v15i2.892
Khan FU, Khan FU, Hayat K, Ahmad T, Khan A, Chang J, et al. Knowledge, attitude, and practice on antibiotics and resistance: mixed-methods study among Pakistani community pharmacists. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(3):1320. doi:10.3390/ijerph18031320
Saleem Z, Hassali MA, Versporten A, Godman B, Hashmi FK, Goossens H, et al. Multicenter point-prevalence survey of antibiotic use in Punjab, Pakistan. Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther. 2019;17(4):285-93. doi:10.1080/14787210.2019.1581063
Bilal H, Khan MN, Rehman T, Hameed MF, Yang X. Antibiotic resistance in Pakistan: a systematic review of the past decade. BMC Infect Dis. 2021;21(1):244. doi:10.1186/s12879-021-05906-1
Ali M, Naureen H, Tariq MH, Farrukh MJ, Usman A, Khattak S, et al. Rational use of antibiotics in ICU: retrospective study on outcomes and mortality. Infect Drug Resist. 2019;12:493-9. doi:10.2147/IDR.S187836
Arifa S, Tahir MK, Allah B, Muhammad OY, Alia S. Survey assessing knowledge, attitude, practices and effects of an intervention program on antibiotic misuse in Pakistan. BMJ Public Health. 2024;2(1):e000758. doi:10.1136/bmjph-2023-000758
Khan FU, Mallhi TH, Khan Q, Khan FU, Hayat K, Khan YH, et al. Antibiotic storage practices and awareness among households in post-conflict Pakistan. Front Med. 2022;9:962657. doi:10.3389/fmed.2022.962657
Khan FU, Mallhi TH, Khan FU, Hayat K, Rehman AU, Shah S, et al. Consumer perspectives on antibiotic consumption and resistance: qualitative study. Front Pharmacol. 2022;13:881243. doi:10.3389/fphar.2022.881243
Zeb S, Mushtaq M, Ahmad M, Saleem W, Rabaan AA, Naqvi BS, et al. Self-medication as a risk factor for antibiotic resistance: student survey. Antibiotics. 2022;11(7):842. doi:10.3390/antibiotics11070842
Haseeb A, Bilal M. Use of non-prescribed medications in rural Pakistan. Arch Public Health. 2016;74(1):1. doi:10.1186/s13690-015-0113-9
Abrar YM, Hafsa Z, Zumama K, Abeedha TU, Misbah N, Tayyaba S, et al. Knowledge, attitude and practices towards antibiotic use among Pakistani university students. BioSci Rev. 2021;3(3). doi:10.32350/BSR.0303.05
Gillani AH, Ji W, Hussain W, Imran A, Chang J, Yang C, et al. Antibiotic self-medication among non-medical university students in Punjab. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017;14(10):1152. doi:10.3390/ijerph14101152
Aziz MM, Haider F, Rasool MF, Hashmi FK, Bahsir S, Li P, et al. Dispensing of non-prescribed antibiotics from community pharmacies in Pakistan. Antibiotics. 2021;10(5):482. doi:10.3390/antibiotics10050482
Mustafa ZU, Nazir M, Majeed HK, Salman M, Hayat K, Khan AH, et al. Knowledge of antibiotic stewardship among pharmacy technicians in Pakistan. Antibiotics. 2022;11(7):921. doi:10.3390/antibiotics11070921
Khan FU, Khan FU, Hayat K, Chang J, Saeed A, Khan Z, et al. Consumer KAP toward antibiotics in Swat, Pakistan. Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther. 2020;18(9):937-46. doi:10.1080/14787210.2020.1769477
Hayat K, Jamshed S, Rosenthal M, Haq NU, Chang J, Rasool MF, et al. Pharmacy students’ understanding of antibiotic use and resistance. Antibiotics. 2021;10(1):66. doi:10.3390/antibiotics10010066
Sarwar MR, Saqib A, Iftikhar S, Sadiq T. Antimicrobial use by WHO methodology at primary health care centres in Punjab. BMC Infect Dis. 2018;18(1):492. doi:10.1186/s12879-018-3407-z
Ul Mustafa Z, Khan AH, Salman M, Harun SN, Meyer JC, Godman B. Rational antibiotic use among children in primary care in Punjab. Drugs Ther Perspect. 2024;40(4):160-71. doi:10.1007/s40267-024-01059-8
Abdul Salam SW, Aham M, Bamns. Parental self-medication with antibiotics in Pakistan. Pak J Med Health Sci. 2023;17(4):228. doi:10.53350/pjmhs2023174228
Hussain I, Shukar S, Arshad SM, Rasool MF, Chang J, Fang Y. Poverty and antibiotic misuse among UTI patients in Pakistan. Front Public Health. 2024;12:1357107. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2024.1357107
Khursheed N, Ahsan Q, Rattani S, Fatima M, Raza A, Tariq S, et al. Antimicrobial prescription patterns: point prevalence from Pakistan. Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther. 2023;21(11):1269-76. doi:10.1080/14787210.2023.2259098
Saleem Z, Faller EM, Godman B, Malik MSA, Iftikhar A, Iqbal S, et al. Antibiotic consumption at community pharmacies: repeated WHO-based surveillance. Med Access Point Care. 2021;5:23992026211064714. doi:10.1177/23992026211064714
Downloads
PlumX Metrics
Published
Issue
Section
License
© The Author(s) 2024. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third-party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you must obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ ) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.
How to Cite
